A baited hook has tipped off rangers to an unknown offender’s deliberate attempt to kill a 3.8-metre crocodile in North Queensland.

Senior Wildlife Officer Tony Frisby received a report of a croc sighting at Bohle River in Townsville, near residential areas and a turf farm, on January 8.

There, they found a croc on the river’s bank.

”Given the size of the animal and its location, it has been declared as a dangerous crocodile and we have set a baited trap to capture it,” Frisby said.

While wildlife officers were investigating the report, they found a large baited hook and snare line attached to a pylon beneath the Little Bohle Bridge.

“We strongly believe that someone set the baited hook in a deliberate attempt to capture and kill the crocodile,” Frisby said.

“If the crocodile had been hooked, it could’ve drowned or died with the hook lodged inside its throat or stomach.

“We conducted further searches of the river for similar devices and didn’t find any.

“We don’t tolerate poaching or acts of animal cruelty like this, and anyone with information about the setting of this baited hook and line is urged to contact the department.”

The 3.8-metre croc will be targeted and removed from the wild.

If it is caught, it will be rehomed in a zoo or farm where it can be part of a breeding program or educational program.

Frisby reminded the public that crocodiles are protected by law and that deliberately harming or killing them can incur a maximum penalty of $36,293.

Anyone with information about the hook or any information about people in possession of crocodile skulls or other body parts should contact the police.